JUNE PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT - 2020

That time again!

Linking with  the lovely Kate at I live, I love, I craft, I am me, to find photos to go with her list of words provided each month.  I am ever so grateful to her for keeping us blogging & focused on the beauty around us, even in these difficult times.  THANK YOU...😊😊😊

1.  MY GARDEN.

OK, this is my old garden at No.4 which was looking very pretty one Spring.  Ours at the moment is quite bare, so popped into the archives.
2.  FLOWERS.

I picked this bunch from the garden yesterday.  My first hellebore flowers & snowflakes, along with ti-tree & diosma.  I find that diosma, although not a pleasant smell, seems to be in flower nearly all year.  And where did I place these.

                                                       On the chest in my sewing room.
3.  INSECTS.

Witchetty grubs

DH found these two lurking in the wood he'd been chopping for our fire & called me out to rescue them.  I picked them up & put them in the garden amongst some leaves.  I took the info* below from the web & they had named a few of the moths, so I was surprised to see that one of them was the Emporer Gum moth, which I'd taken a photo of at one of our Car Club outings & shown on the blog last year.
*The witchetty grub (also spelled witchety grub or witjuti grub[1]) is a term used in Australia for the large, white, wood-eating larvae of several moths

Emporer Gum Moth.

4.  SUNRISE/SUNSET.

                              A photo taken back in 2017 from our driveway & not edited at all.  It was                                                                                               amazing.
5.  SOMETHING WILD.

Butcherbird on the left, Rosellas bottom right & King Parrot top right.

Last weekend whilst sweeping the verandah, I could hear my Butcherbird's call & looked up to see him sitting in the leafless tree behind the shed, along with to my amazement, 3 Eastern Rosellas & a King Parrot.  Flew inside to grab the camera, put on my big lens, hoping they'd still be there & voila, a photo.  Please click to see it full size.  I didn't dare go any closer as they'd have flown off.
6.  MY OWN CHOICE.

A nursery at 4 Elms in Kent, UK.

I just loved this nursery with both plants & old ephemera plus a cafe.  I could see so much of this being used in a gorgeous garden.  Wasn't sure what to put for my own choice this time & kept tossing thoughts around, then thinking about gardens & what I'd like to do in one with odd bits & pieces.  Not going to happen any time soon, as we  may be in lockdown again soon with a spike in cases happening again. 😣

OK, my lot for this month & hopefully July will bring a slow down in this virus & we can slowly find a new normal, but of course never the same as we've known most of our lives.

Take care, stay safe all & huggles from down under.

Susan.

PORTABLE DESIGN WALL.

Recently my blog friend Joy, from Days Filled with Joy,  talked about her new design wall & a couple of people pointed out that with rental properties there were limitations to what they could use.
Hopefully my design wall will be an interesting alternative to something permanent.  Mine came about, as where I sew is quite small, being the third bedroom and measuring approximately 9'8" x 11', including a built-in robe.

 In it's usual position in front of the wardrobe doors.  It is easy to move out of the way, by folding & placing somewhere else.

                                                               Shown partially folded.
HOW IT WAS MADE.
We used a slim core board, sold here in Australia under the brand name Corflute & was purchased at Bunnings a big hardware chain.  The pieces were 900mm x 600mm x 5mm thick.  We used 4 which cost us $31.40 ($7.85 each).  They are extremely lightweight.

 Next we taped them together as above using general purpose cloth tape measuring 5cm wide.

A close up of the taping.  Under the felt on the front, I think it was over the join lengthways, but on the back we put it both sides of the join so it will fold nicely.
Next came the felt for the front.  This was purchased at Spotlight (another big chain store here) and comes on a roll.  It is quite fine & wide enough to cover both boards & I must have bought about 3 metres to cover the length.  Again we used the tape to secure it on the back after pulling it quite taut.  I had tried a thin batting, but found it awkward and it seemed to stretch out of shape.  The felt has stood the test of time over 4 years so far. 

                                                                The tape in position.

The board folded in half and easily moved out of the way.  It is lightweight enough for moving & as I'm only about 148cm tall, I don't have any problems & most blocks, etc stay in place.

I also have a small design wall made around 1997 which has moved all over the place with us & has always sat not too far from my sewing machine .  I use this when piecing individual blocks or as is shown below, for contemplating bits 'n' pieces I may be playing with.😉

The little table beside my machine desk is a recent purchase from........ ALDI, of all places, & I'm sure everyone has heard of them, not just here in Oz.  It extends both sides, and is great when attaching borders or binding, as it supports all the weight of the growing quilt.

Excuse the messy sewing space and the quality of the photos, but the sun was in & out whilst trying to snap the room.  I really wanted to get this post done for someone who was interested.
Today is very miserable with gusty high winds, biting cold, gloomy grey skies and the occasional showers and we have been told there is more to come over the next 4 days possibly.
Hope this post helps any quilty friends who need an easy design wall solution.
Hope to be back with a bit of crafty catch up from DH and I before too long.
Take care all & huggles.
Susan.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY & A CRAFTY CATCHUP.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL.

And we have another birthday!!!!!  Today it's our youngest.   Son J,  celebrates his 41st.  Happy birthday.  That's our 4 done with birthdays till December this year.  I omitted  two, as I just wasn't blogging, so we now have our older son who is 42 & my stepdaughter who is now also 46 too, 13 days older than my daughter.  All have done us proud.  Thanks a squillion kids.

CRAFTY FINISHES.
A few very old, small UFO's have been finished.

An apron I designed from curtain fabric samples I was given & a 10 degree wedge ruler.

Leftovers from a baby quilt, which I may donate as a premi baby quilt.

A table mat I designed, along with a laundry hanger.  I blew up letters from the computer, popped them onto fabric & appliqued them.  These two were lots of fun just playing around.

That is my problem at times, as I love designing & then suddenly, I think of something else & it gets put aside.  I also have another problem of getting tops quilted, if they are not being given away immediately.  I still have my "tub of shame", though it is a little lighter after quilting this lot, below.

Dilly Dally Deco.

I know I've shown this before it was quilted, whilst I was piecing it.  I designed it to use the leftovers from a jelly roll I used to make Dotty Custard. (this post).

Detail of quilting above, the pattern being Japanese Tiles by Kerryn Emmerson.

Fair Isle,

Another of my designs, now quilted & bound, which I took with me and started at a Quilt Retreat in Bordertown, which I blogged about here.

Mormors Quilt No.2

This was the second time I'd made this particular quilt from a very old book called More Lap Quilting by Georgia Bonesteel (1985).  Made around 1996/7 from a border fabric print and made with both templates and a rotary cutter.  Very different from the first one I started in 1986, before rotary cutter days and using templates, tape measure & scissors.  No. 1 was finally finished  with a meandering quilt pattern, using my first short-arm quilting machine purchased  in 1999 after I was made redundant from the bank.  No 2 has a lovely all-over pattern called Little Leaves, also by Kerryn Emmerson, even though it was suggested I do a custom job on it.  I think it works beautifully as is and the fabric is too busy to see much anyway.

Mormors Quilt No.1

I've two others I've done, but bindings aren't finished yet, so will show them soon.

I talked about our hectic 2018, but forgot all about a few odd hiccups throughout the year.
April saw our 13 year old microwave die and also on the Thursday before Christmas our 18 year old washing machine took its last wash.  I am now the owner of a (my first ever), front loading washer.  I also needed new glasses, which added to our expense list, but we did make a few purchases, that we've both been hankering after for a while.

Bandsaw for K.

And he started this.

     

A lovely neat & comfortable chair for my sewing area.
I used one of these over at Judy's, & it is much better than my larger office type chair I used.

One more photo for today, then I'll retire from the study, to a cooler part of the house.

Low loader now finished.

BTW, did I mention that it is HOT today.  Our weather station is showing  42.6deg & the wind is blowing from the north, straight from the middle of Australia, where the mercury has been in the 40s this week around Alice Springs.  A cool change is forecast for later this evening & hopefully in the low 20s tomorrow.  Can't wait for that................😌
A few last words........ Thanks to all my blogpals for taking the time to read this little blog, commenting & being my friends, although I've not met all of you.  I didn't think I'd ever be able to do this, but come the end of January, I have  blogiversary   "No. 6".   Can you believe it?
Oh, one of the highlights from last year, was that I was published in an on-line magazine.  Maybe again this year!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, I'm off for a cool drink & to veg in front of the cricket for a while.
Take care and huggles from Susan.

A WINNER & A REVEAL.

First, I would like to thank all who commented on my last post, as we have been busy of late with at least another 2 weeks being fairly full on, with all many of happenings.  I'll possibly update with some.

Next is winner of my little giveaway.

A bowl of paper squares (not many).

I held the bowl aloft and hubby swished them around and then pulled one out.
Voila!!!
And the winner is............

Gillian from Tales from a Happy House.
I'll be in touch.

Now for that reveal of what I did with the blocks I've been working and showing, a couple at a time.

This is what they've become.  Not the best photo, as I took it outside with the sun shining through it.  Not quilted yet & nowhere I could show it all, unless I took it on the floor & sometimes you don't get a very good angle.
Next time you see this, it should be finished.

Below is my new portable design wall, which I can fold in half & store away neatly in another room, so I can get to the fabric & speciality rulers in the cupboard behind.  Much better than my old one. Those blocks have been put to bed once again, as I still can't get them the right size.  Need something less complicated at the moment to work on.  There are plenty on the computer (Quilt Wizard), in my graph book & my head to keep me going anyway.  I'll be working on another stash busting design plus some leftover pieces from a quilt made some time ago, to be another charity quilt.  That will be a post soon.

Last photo for tonight is what it looked like here in West Gippsland for most of last week till we got some lovely wind from the south-west.

The  lingering smoke, taken from our backyard, looking out over the houses across the road.
The CFA (Country Fire Authority) have been doing "controlled burns", it being a way to keep the undergrowth of our forests under control & not too much of a hazard for next summer.
It wasn't so good for my sinus or if people have asthma or hayfever, but is what happens each autumn.

Enough from me now.  I'm off to watch Charlie Luxton in Homes by the Sea, which I love.
Have a good week all & I'll be back either through the week or at the weekend with some catchups.
Take care, Susan.

ADVENT CALENDAR 23rd

Linking up with Hawthorn and Julie for the Advent Calendar.

DAY 23.

Ah, number 23 just on the left.  This shop has now actually closed down, but I do love the picture of the man with the piano.  Mine is luckily what they call a cottage style and isn't too big.

Well, not actually crafting, but making my space to work a bit friendlier.  It didn't take too long, but did cut into my time, along with a little baking and tidying up.  

What it looks like now.

Bubs is now set up where I had the ordinary sewing machine, cutting table and ironing board.
That quilt is waiting to go on the machine.
I think after Xmas.

Bookcases still in same place.  Enough space too, as the walk through from kitchen area to spare bedrooms and laundry etc.
It seems to be working OK so far, although I've not used Bubs in months,it seems like.

The back bedroom is now where I sew.  Not much happening on that front yet.  After Christmas I have some plans to get lots done in the way of UFO's, my book and some other designs done too.  I've also an idea for a type of quiltalong, but won't be calling it that.  Watch this space.

Still some organising to do & the quilt on the ironing board is awaiting it's binding (already made now).

Looking to the other side.

I can't believe this Advent calendar is nearly over.  I've enjoyed the number bit, but definitely didn't do well with the crafty side.  Hope everyone isn't finding it too boring.
Take care all, Santa will soon be here.
Huggles, Susan.

ADVENT CALENDAR 10th

Linking up with Hawthorn and Julie for the Advent Calendar.

DAY 10.

This sign was at the entrance to the Caravan Park in Eden, where we were staying 2 weeks ago and I thought, yes, another number bites the dust.

CRAFT?

Well maybe that is not happening over this weekend, but I did spend a little time out in the garden this afternoon after the club meeting.  It really needs some attention at the moment.  I think these photos possibly pass as craft!!!

We've several kangaroo paw plants dotted around the garden (inherited) and the one near the back fence is actually taller than the fence and some flowers are now leaning out badly.  What do you do when this happens?  Why you cut them and bring them inside to admire.

This mauve Hebe was also here and is now spreading sideways and is hindering the picking of the blueberries (first lot today), so I gave it a little pruning and of course, inside they came.

Why haven't I been crafting? 

No. 1 Busy with club meeting.
No. 2.Gardening
No. 3.This is...............

MESSY.
Something I find difficult to work in, so am in the throws of claiming back some order and then we'll do  a little festive stuff once again.  Tomorrow of course it won't be finished  (Xmas party for club), but Monday should see me make some headway.  

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend.
Take care.
Susan.